Fishing Reports

With a '10 knot variable' forecast, Sunday 7th November was the sort of day that was too good not to go fishing, so a group of Russell locals chartered Major Tom II to take them out after hapuka, and replenish the freezer stocks.

The fishing was great, and by 11.15am they had filled their quota (Major Tom, as a member of the Charter Assn fleet applies a voluntary 2 fish limit), so the decision was made, with water temps over 18C in the midday sun to troll for some albacore, or perhaps the first yellowfin.

Two skipjack had been landed by the time the 500M line was reached, but no signs of albacore, so we made the decision to make for home, via the Nine Pin Trenches.

Bird life increased, and a few small fish  could be seen evading the boat's path in the smooth glassy seas, then bang smack on top of the outside trench, a 'something' was idling along, sunning itself in the afternoon heat.

"If it wasn't so early, I'd swear it's a marlin, I'll go closer, must be a shark, BLOODY HELL, it is a marlin," as the fish turned towards the boat's wash, turned again, raised it's dorsal and trailed in behind the small blue ,brown and white Bonze lure, that had been so effective on tuna for us last year.

Three times it shimmied up to the lure, and on the third attempt, as we increased speed slightly, the marlin struck, and started taking line from one of our 15kg Penn Internationals. There was nothing particularly spectacular about the fight, and after 35 tense minutes, Heather placed a perfect tag shot to catch Graham Sowerby, the former Russell weighmaster, his first pin fish ever, and his first marlin since 1990.